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Oak-killing fungus could add fuel to wildfire season

by Take Two

A bald eagle perches in an oak tree on hills of pastureland that has turned of dirt and dead grass on February 5, 2014 near Visalia, California. Now in its third straight year of unprecedented drought, California is experiencing its driest year on record, dating back 119 years and possible the worst in the past 500 years. David McNew/Getty Images

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We all know how heat, drought, wind can increase the odds of a fire, but now there's another factor to think about: fungus.

Many oak trees in California have been afflicted by a fungus that cuts off its nutrients and water, eventually killing the tree and leaving more fuel for wild brush fires. Akif Eskalen, plant pathologist at UC Riverside, joins the show with more.

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Take Two, exclusively on 89.3 KPCC, 89.1 KUOR and 90.3 KVLA in southern California, and on 88.9 KNPR in Las Vegas, captures the spirit of the West in a conversational, informal, witty style and examines the cultural issues people are buzzing about.